FACTS
- Instances of wheels not being properly secured resulted in trucking catastrophes—injuries or fatalities that could have been avoided with proper use of tractor trailer safety equipment like industrial wheel chocks.
- When performed correctly, chocking (or blocking) prevents tractor trailer trucks from rolling or overturning while being loaded, unloaded or serviced.
- Chocking is especially important on uneven or sloped surfaces.
- The FMCSA requires proper usage of truck wheel chocks including the use of blocks or chocks for heavy haulers, as well as trailers carrying agricultural commodities and pulpwood.
STATS
- A 2019 study valued the U.S. trucking industry at $791 billion with more than 947,000 truck drivers employed. An OSHA study found “workers in the trucking industry experienced the most fatalities of all occupations, accounting for 11 percent of all worker deaths.”
- In 2020, the U.S. mining industry saw fatal accidents claim the lives of 29 workers. Vehicle-related incidents cause a large portion of these accidents year after year and highlight the need for proper mining safety equipment, such as wheel chocks.
- In 2017, there were 270,000 injuries reported in the transportation and warehousing industry. The same industry also saw 819 deaths, a number only surpassed by the construction industry. The number of preventable fatal work injuries in transportation and warehousing grew 5.3% from 2016 to 2017.1
- More than 25% of all industrial accidents happen at the loading dock, and for every accident, there are about 600 near misses.